Jonathan Tamari

WASHINGTON -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker came racing out of the gates when it comes to fundraising for an expected 2014 U.S. senate campaign.

Booker raised $1.9 million in the first three months of the year, his campaign team said Monday. He ended the quarter with $1.6 million in cash on hand – a little less than half of what U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.) had as of his latest federal filings, March 31.

Pallone, who has built that war chest over years in Congress, raised $459,550 in the first three months of the year, and had $3.7 million on hand.

Neither Booker nor Pallone has officially declared that they will run in 2014 to replace retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), but both have openly expressed interest in the seat.